Some Eldersburg residents are expressing opposition this week to a proposed 30-acre business park and shopping center on the site of the former Freedom Golf Center on Old Liberty Road.

"Why do we need retail and convenience again?" said Kimberly Haines of Eldersburg, a neighbor of the property and an area real estate agent.

St. John Properties, based in Baltimore, is proposing to build Liberty Crossing at the golf center, 438 Old Liberty Road, near Gera Way.

The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the concept plan last week.

That plan calls for two, 16,645-square-foot retail strip center buildings, as well as a 4,000-square-foot bank, a 6,000-square-foot restaurant and two office/warehouse buildings -- one 61,160 square feet and the other 66,240 square feet.

The Liberty Crossing proposal also includes two 24,480-square-foot office buildings and a 12-pump gas station with a 5,589-square-foot convenience store.

The center would have 975 parking spaces and a 10-acre buffer zone along a stream north of the center -- making it 40 acres overall.

Liberty Road would be widened in the area of the center to allow two through lanes in each direction as well as turn lanes. Old Liberty Road would see widening as well, serving as the main entrance into the new center.

Haines, who lives in the Edgewood neighborhood, is concerned about traffic congestion and trucks traveling to the warehouses.

"I'm looking at house values going down," she said.

Liberty Crossing would add to other shopping center and business center complexes that are slated in the Eldersburg area. Those include Main Street Eldersburg on Londontown Boulevard, redevelopment of Carrolltown Center on Ridge Road, Piney Ridge Village Center on Piney Ridge Parkway and the Warfield Cultural and Commerce Center in Sykesville.

Patty Richter of Eldersburg, who lives on Gera Way beside the golf center, said it doesn't make sense to approve another retail project with those on the way.

"We have so many projects or retail development projects in Eldersburg that seem to be on hold where I don't think we need another one," she said.

Richter and Haines said they would like to see the developer turn the property into something sports related such as a YMCA, swim center, ice hockey rink or ball fields.

"We need to get back to the values of a family and what draws us to Carroll County," Haines said. "I'm not saying stop development. I'm saying make it smart development."

St. John Properties officials did not return calls from The Eagle requesting comment on the development.

Haines said the developer and the county should hold a community meeting for neighborhoods around the project.

Ross Dangel of Eldersburg echoes those sentiments. Dangel, a member of the Freedom Area Citizens' Council, said the county and developer were not "transparent" on this development to the affected residents.

"If it's a county process, we're here to bring transparency between the community and the county," Dangel said of FACC's potential role.

He said FACC typically doesn't take sides on development, but does work toward better communication between the county, developers and the community.

Kevin Hroblak, president of the nearby Sumner's Hollow Home Owners Association, said his 88-home association hasn't received any information from the developer and county. Hroblak said the community wants to know the extent of the plans as well as lighting and traffic impacts.

"The thoughts of the homeowners haven't been fully expressed because they haven't been fully informed," he said.

Although the process is only in its early review stage, Richter said she feels the process is being rushed. For instance, she said, notice of a Monday, Oct. 27, meeting didn't go out until the Thursday before.

"I feel like it's being pushed through without enough public notice," she said.

One change has already been dictated by the county from the original plan. St. John Properties had proposed a 45-foot-tall sign tower for the center, but planners said that will have to decrease it to 30 feet because of the zoning restrictions for that area.

After last week's meeting with the county, the developer is reviewing requested changes. No additional meetings or hearings are scheduled, though the project will eventually be scheduled for a vote by the planning commission.

The approval process could take anywhere from months to a year, said Daphne Daly, Carroll County planning manager.

Coming soon to Eldersburg: Arundel Mills?

Sykesville and Eldersburg currently has three shopping centers and one employment campus with retail space approved, but not yet built.

Those projects, when combined with Liberty Crossing, represent an estimated 1.37 million square feet of new or redeveloped space, and include:

*Piney Ridge Village Center -- 52,000 square feet.

*Main Street Eldersburg -- 80,000 square feet.

*Liberty Crossing -- 208,594 square feet.

*Carrolltown Center 330,000 square feet (some existing; some new).

*Warfield Cultural and Commerce Center -- 300,000 existing, 350,000 to 400,000 additional square feet of space can be built.

The actual total for these projects is 1.37 million square feet of space. That's more than Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Md., (1.3 million square feet) and more than half the size of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. (2.5 million square feet).

Source: Staff reports

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